Launched in 2016, Madrid-based edtech start-up Lingokids raises $40M (nearly €33.3M) in Series C funding.
This funding phase has an anonymous investor along with London-based VC GP Bullhound and existing investors HV Capital and the game and toy company Ravensburger.
The platform wants to use the funding to expand globally and take on a bigger role in education. Also, spend the capital in global hiring of around 60 people for the engineering and development teams.
About Lingokids
LingoKids, launched in 2016, is designed especially for children aged 2 to 8. It is a “learn-by-play” application that purports to help children develop vocabulary in dozens of languages, literacy, STEM skills, social and emotional skills through play. Aside from the children’s participation, even their parents can also take part in exciting recreational activities.
The platform allows parents to review their children’s progress through a dedicated parent portal that includes weekly reports, program overviews and an activity calendar.
Furthermore, provides tips and tricks for the daily lives of parents through its community of parents. As per a Lingokids report, 68 per cent of parents stated they now rely on early learning apps to supplement their children’s education.
Cristóbal Viedma, CEO and founder of Lingokids, said, “This is the next important step in our mission of helping parents and caretakers raise amazing kids and break down educational barriers to create equal opportunities for children across the world.“.
LingoKids contains interesting and unique characters produced by Guillermo García-Carsí (creator of the famous cartoon Pocoyó) and his team. The app further features both original, and the company’s educational board has made Oxford University Press content and the Lingokids curriculum with experts in early language learning from companies like LeapFrog, Hasbro, Disney, and Nickelodeon.
Expansion Plans
As mentioned above, LingoKids has eyes on international expansion as it seeks to go further than the United States and the United Kingdom. It plans to use the funds collected for the same purpose. Additionally, plans to make the platform content-rich by focusing on new offerings on STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and also impart skills that many kids may have missed out on during the 2020-2021 academic year, such as emotional intelligence, empathy and critical thinking, due to pandemic.
Furthermore, the application will also develop new audio content in audiobooks and audio exercises based on mental health, mindfulness and meditation.
Additionally, plans to hire 60 people worldwide to its team of over 100 employees. Vladimir Klimov, Director of Content Strategy, with experience strategically scaling international companies such as Deezer; and Tiago Pregueiro, former Product Director at Cabify, as VP of Product are the latest additions to Lingokids.
Funding
To date, Lingokids has raised a total of $62.5 million over nine rounds of funding, reaching EBITDA positive in 2020. Their most recent funding was raised on June 15, 2021, through a Series C round. Twenty-two investors finance LingoKids. HV Capital, Ravensburger and one unidentified investor are the latest investors in LingoKids.
As stated by the company, Lingokids and Ravensburger will jointly develop merchandising and new offline games and toys to complement Lingokids’ online activities.
Other partners include Save The Children, UNICEF, UNHCR and the U.S. Red Cross.
